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Friday, April 27, 2012

These were words spoken by Nelson Mandela during his inaugural speech on 10 May 1994. The same words were repeated on the radio today (Freedom Day) word for word by Helen Zille, which I presume she was reading from this disingenuous speech she drafted for the occasion, and which starts off with: – “On this day, the 27th of April, exactly 18 years ago a democratic South Africa was born.”

It is really pointless to read or listen to these speeches made by politicians, for they contain nothing but a clutter of extremely boring carefully chosen politically correct words, which the Online JRank Encyclopedia describes as, “a curious sociolinguistic phenomenon… Generated by attitudes reflecting social sensitivity rather than frankness.”

So - in other words, democratic South Africa has another full year to go before it grows out of its teenage years… What a frightening thought if one takes into consideration how many kids from dysfunctional families still ‘struggle’ with their tormented souls when they’re well into their forties... God help us!

An independent (non-government controlled) Afrikaans media site called, Maroela Media, has presented a fairly truthful article today that focuses on the fact that South Africa, while a democracy, is nowhere near free (or grownup yet).

The article, written by Willie Spies, draws attention to the following recent news highlights:

The president is married with his fourth wife. In total this was his sixth marriage;

The Police Ministry has denied claims of nepotism;

The former national commissioner of the SA Police was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment;

The current police commissioner is suspended from duty, due to allegations of tender fraud and corruption;

The ANC youth leader and his buddies are being investigated for alleged tax evasion amounting to millions of rands;

A mentally retarded Soweto teenager became the victim of gang rape, and a video thereof went viral on the internet. -- (This was bound to happen sooner or later in a country that’s been labelled as: A nation of rapists.)

“Freedom is just chaos, with better lighting.”Alan Dean Foster, To the Vanishing Point (1988), ISBN 0-446-51338-5

May 2008 - South Africa

A seriously injured Mozambique national walks out of a field after being beaten by South African residents during ongoing xenophobia clashes in Ramaphosa squatter camp east of Johannesburg, South Africa, 20 May 2008. Picture Credit: EPA/KIM LUDBROOK - Sourced from: news.monstersandcritics.com - (More pics on the website -- See also: Jon Hrusa Photography

June 2009 - South Africa

Residents of Balfour run during riots with police after protests erupted in townships across South Africa over inadequate housing and public services. Photograph: Alon Skuy/AFP/Getty Images - Sourced from: www.guardian.co.uk

July 2009 - South Africa

Locals carry bricks as riots break out over inadequate housing and poor public services in the Thokoza township of Johannesburg. Sourced from: www.guardian.co.uk

June 2010 - South Africa

Police and riot squads detain World Cup stewards from the Moses Mabhida Stadium after they protested at the end of the Australia-Germany match in Durban, South Africa. AP Photo/Gero Breloer

February 2011 - South Africa

"The riot was a multi-generational affair. Adults, teenagers, and children each played their part. Baby Snesh and her stuffed frog helped by adding pieces of newspaper to the fire." - Sourced from: Photo Essay: Anatomy of a South Africa Riot (more pics on the website)

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South Africa has been dubbed "the protest capital of the world" and has one of the highest rates of public protest in the world.

During the 2004/05 financial year about 6,000 protests were officially recorded, an unknown number of protests went unrecorded, and about 1,000 protests were illegally banned. This meant that at least 15 protests were taking place each day in South Africa at this time. However the number of protests has escalated dramatically since then and Business Day reports that "2009 and 2010 together account for about two-thirds of all protests since 2004" There was a dramatic surge in protests shortly after Jacob Zuma first took office and the number of protests was ten times higher in 2009 than in 2004 and even higher in 2010. The number of protests reached an all time high in 2010/2011 and can therefore be said to be escalating. -- (Source: Wikipedia)

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